Hi hi!
So, since we've gone over Corvus X Kuro, I think that Arc should get a little love, if ya get my drift.
And now that the whole possessive thing has finally been confirmed, we can make this and kick it up a notch.
ONWARDS!
Kuro had to admit, the following days were quite nice.
Most of the time that wasn't spend mindlessly wandering the castle or sleeping was spent in the garden.
Once she had the route down, she found herself sitting at the marble bench on her free time often, just staring at all the green.
Now that she'd seen the real thing, however, she couldn't help but feel that the flowers felt a little too artificial. It was no secret that "plant-life", as the humans called it, could not grow down here. So, of course, to an extent, the flowers, the tree and the grass were all fake, but the see the surface without the cover of war kinda broke the illusion.
But, being the next best thing, she still enjoyed the many hours killed there.
Today, when she pushed the doors open, she found her usual spot taken by another.
At the bench, the still frame of a particular spider demon sat, his back facing her.
Kuro, for once, couldn't help but feel as if she were intruding on something here. He looked so at peace, almost like he was sleeping, and even if this was her usual hangout (/get away from Corvus) spot, it still felt as if she was invading.
She tried to slowly and quietly close the door behind her to the garden, only to hear a familiar voice huff, "Do you plan to stand in the doorway for much longer?"
"I honestly wasn't sure if I was allowed in." Kuro admitted, finally abandoning the doorway, before slowly walking over. Hearing him speak was also an invitation inwards, she wasn't intruding.
At least, she hoped she wasn't.
"Mmm." Was all she got from Arc. upon closer inspection of the spider demon, she noticed the black rose that he was holding, his black fingernails toying with the stem.
He looked so serene at the moment, emotionless as usual of course, but he seemed a bit out of it, in a calm sort of way, she guessed.
He then gave her a confused look, "Do you plan to stand over me for the next hour?"
"Depends, you got a problem with that?" Kuro asked, before taking a seat next to him, giving him a grin.
He didn't return the expression, but that was to be expected at this point.
In any other sort of normal occurrence, Kuro could press his buttons, lean on his awkwardly while reciting some odd story that he'd have no choice but to listen to, but she couldn't help but think that, at the moment, there was just a lot of much needed silence.
Kuro looked around, mindlessly twisting her ring around her finger as she did so. Something didn't feel quite right at the moment.
Of course, nothing ever felt right when she was within the castle, but still, something was very...off.
The feeling was tipped off when a low rumble sounded from the west part of the castle, causing the two to look up, confused. Usually such sounds were nothing new, the Rift was filled with such sounds, but Arc rose when he saw the smoke coming off from the western tower.
"...Is Cresil going ape shit crazy in there, or…?" Kuro asked, unsure where to lead that sentence.
Finally, Arc moved, grabbing Kuro's hand and leading her out of the gardens, "If that is what I think it is, we need to move inside, now."
"Well, pray tell, what do you assume is going on!?" Kuro said, only to jump when another explosion went off, before Arc pried open the door, shoving her in first, before closing it behind him, just as another detonation went off.
Even if this was normal in the Rift, it was different when you were the target. It was a whole different feeling when you're not the one watching.
Meanwhile, Arc looked around, never letting go of Kuro's hand, even if they were in the hallway alone, "Hey, you gonna tell me anything yet?" Kuro shouted, jumping when the building rattled under her feet.
Arc didn't have to, as the next turn revealed two guards, both clad in armor. One of them spoke up, "My prince, Lady Lilim, we need you both within the library, where it will be safe."
"We will be escorting you both." the second guard said, the walls of the castle shaking ever so slightly, "We're under attack."
"This is garbage." Leviathan scowled, as he looked out the window, watching as the angry mob continued to lob their attacks at the western tower. Though, he had to admit, it was smart to go for the one tower that was closest to the castle gates. The Sin had to admit, he found it stupidly brave of the lowly to go this far with an assault, "I don't see why we bother moving certain demons to the library when we're attacked, your office is more than good enough."
"Think of it as a bonus."Legion hissed, his smoky being neatly putting files away, ignoring the riot going on right outside, "We're put away while the guards take care of it. It's regulation."
"Call it what you want, it's stupid." Leviathan scowled, before picking up a paper, making a face, "So, I take it the team Yoru thing has yet to take flight?"
"The King has more pressing matters."Legion sighed, shaking his head,"While it is treason, it is something I am tasked with when it comes to gathering information and creating a case, of sorts."
Leviathan was about to walk out, ready to head over to the library, which was the closest "evacuation room", only to hear Legion drop something, a notebook, "...Is something wrong, Legion?"
"This is the perfect time."
"Care to explain, dominus?" Leviathan said, not bothering to pay any attention to the fighting going on outside. The sin of Envy couldn't help but wonder how long the guards would drag it on until they were taken care of.
"Since the halls are clean, and the Rifters are at the gate; this would be a perfect chance to investigate Yoru."
"Oh, am I hearing orders?"
"I want you to take a small team out, no more than five if that is possible, and go into the Rift. See what you can find on Yoru; they'd be too smart to try and get into this."
"Honestly, I'd take anything over being trapped here any longer." Leviathan said, stretching his arms, before leaving the room, "I'll set out ASAP, dominus." And with that, he left the room, just as another rumble shook the building.
Legion sighed, looking outside the window, before shaking his head. To think that the Rifters outnumbered them. But, then again, that was their only advantage.
He picked up a book before leaving for the library, ignoring the slight dust that was beginning to fall from ceiling.
Thank Satan that the library was only a couple of doors away.
Kuro nearly tripped as she was pushed into the library, Arc not far behind, "Hey, watch it!"
"Our apologies," One of the guards said, not sounding apologetic in the slightest, before looking to Arc, "We will come back for you once the fighting has concluded. If you need anything, there will be a guard in here."
Before Kuro could make some sort of remark, Arc jumped in, "Thank you for your services."
With that, the two guards left, closing the door behind them.
Once the doors were shut, Kuro gave him a teasing look, "Maybe it's because I'm used to being stuck around your brother, but I wasn't aware that you demons of sophistication knew what respect is."
To the remark, Arc scowled, but after being around him for so long, Kuro could tell when he was really irritated with something or when he just allowed his usual expression to take over, "I do what I can to separate myself from the line that they have set."
Kuro nodded, before looking around. She'd been here once before, to talk to Corvus, but now that she got a good look at the place, she couldn't help but feel...tiny.
The walls went so high up, she couldn't see the ceiling. The whole room was larger than life, built to be like a giant maze of sorts. The carpet was a nice deep red, like the walls outside.
"Fancy place." Kuro said, before walking over to a nearby table, looking over the books that were already there, "Of course, this whole place is, it's kinda implied when you live in what is known as a 'castle'."
Arc stood over at one of the nearby bookshelves, seeming to be making a selection, which made Kuro stifle a laugh, "Don't tell me you actually plan to read one of those."
"We're in a library, with nothing better to do." Arc said, before finally grabbing two, walking back over to the table, "I'd suggest you do the same, but I'm not sure if you are properly educated in reading."
"I can read, thank you very much." Kuro scoffed, "I just choose not to."
"Hmm."
Kuro childishly stuck her tongue out, before looking around, "I'm going to go and explore."
"Don't expect me to come and find you when you get lost."
"Yeah, yeah, love ya too." Kuro muttered back, not catching the slight red on his face, hidden behind the pages of a book.
She walked off into the maze, part of her just needing to move about. While it was a large place, she hated feeling as if she were trapped in here, forced to use it as a sort of bomb shelter to wait out the fighting outside.
As she'd walk by the bookshelves, she'd read some of the labels, probably used to organize the books and shelves. Some were your standard: Language, Science, History; and so on and so on.
But, the deeper in she went, the subjects changed from your standard boring school classes to much darker things.
"Why would we have a whole area dedicated to exorcism?" Kuro wondered aloud, the very word sending shivers down her spine.
She went deeper on, before finally coming to a stop, a label catching her eye, "Demonic Fable." She read aloud, before inspecting the books.
Of course, she knew of the usual myths, the stupid stories that the children of the Rift would wet themselves to the thought of, but even then, these books held a little promise.
Maybe even some truth.
"Please don't let this book start yelling at me," Kuro said, pulling out one with a dark green cover, the edges well-worn as if it had been pulled out many times before, "The moment I see a face popping out, I'm throwing this out the window."
Kuro cringed, propping open the book, only to sigh with relief; no jump-scares. Only now did she bother to read the front cover, "Who would read a book called 'Demons of Lust and where to find them'?"
"I, preferably, find it a good read."
Kuro jumped, whipping around to face predatory dark yellow eyes, framed by his long wavy russet hair.
"…Asmodeus, right?" Kuro asked, handing over the book when the sin of Lust held his hand out.
"In the flesh." He grinned, tugging at the collar of his dark blue jacket, before giving her a flirty look, "What is the soon-to-be princess doing here?"
"Maybe you haven't noticed yet, but we're kinda under attack." Kuro murmured, feeling very uneasy, almost fuzzy around him.
"Are we now?" Asmodeus murmured, before shrugging, "I often lose track of time while I'm in here, as well as my awareness I suppose."
"Don't stress it, my dude." Kuro grinned, trying to soften the mood.
She first thought that it was just something small and stupid, like the side effects of not eating enough, but she could feel a sort of cloudy grasp on her head.
She didn't like it.
All the while, Asmodeus smiled, his eyes gleaming darkly, "Is something wrong, lovely?"
"Just a bit...dizzy?" Kuro mumbled, leaning on the bookshelf, a hand on her head. It was all feeling fuzzy, but in a distracting way, as if it was all to take attention from some other feeling.
"Oh, we have a bad girl on our hands, don't we?" Asmodeus chuckles, putting the book back, before walking closer.
The smell coming off of the sin of Lust only made her headache worse. She leaned back, nearly losing her balance as she did, "Get away from me." Kuro managed, eyes narrowed.
"Aww, don't be like that, baby girl." Asmodeus purred. Kuro never thought she'd think it, but she'd prefer Corvus' advances over this, "I know of your deepest secrets and desires; I can give it to you, if you wish."
"Fuck...Off." Kuro growled, attempting to raise both fists, ready to fight, only to nearly topple over.
"Huh, I was assuming that you'd be an easy meal." Asmodeus mused, only to shake his head, pulling his jacket off, "But, if you managed to turn down Corvus, I guess that I wouldn't have much of a chance either-."
"Asmodeus."
The sin of lust scowled, giving the demon down the way a dirty look, "Prince Aranea, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Do not waste my time with forced pleasantries." Arc scowled, before moving towards Kuro, keeping her upright, "Get out of her head."
"Aww, don't be like that, your highness." Asmodeus purred. Kuro, meanwhile, could only hear and understand bits and pieces of it all, her mind fighting not to go blank, as she heavily leaned on Arc, who didn't seem to struggle as he held her up, "I'm not Mammon, nor am I Leviathan; I can learn to share."
"Do not assume such ideals." Arc snapped. For once, Kuro couldn't help but compare him to Corvus when he had gotten angry with her; maybe they really were related somehow, "As a prince of this castle, I order you to never come near her again."
To this, Asmodeus laughed, the sound colder than anything Winter could have ever whipped up, "Mind your mouth, young prince; your status won't get you everything." And with that, the demon walked off, picking up and dusting off his jacket as he left.
The farther he got, the more the headache subsided, finally leaving, dulling to a slight hum for a few seconds before nothing.
Kuro groaned, still holding her head, when she remembered who was still holding her up, "I thought you promised not to go looking for me." She teased.
"Do not act as if my appearance foiled your plans." Arc scoffed, only to sigh when Kuro gave him a look, "You can't really expect a demon to keep a promise now, can you?"
"Aww, I was hoping you were different." Kuro said, faking a sniffle, before slowly pushing herself up to lean on the bookcase, "Seriously though, I thought you were in the middle of a good book."
"I had just finished it and was looking for something else to read." With the stone-face expression he always wore, it was hard to see if he was joking or not.
Either way, Kuro decided to drop it, "What was his deal?"
"He's the embodiment of Lust," Arc said, a disgusted look on his face, "You can't expect much."
"Okay, one, that rhymed, kinda." Kuro snickered, "And two, I'm not talking about that part, I mean the whole headache part. He comes close and boom, I'm just so dizzy. Is it his BO, or…?"
"Ah, you're talking about that." Arc sighed, looking around the bookshelf, before picking up what seemed to be a random book, "Come on, we should get back to the table in the front."
"Alright, jeez, hold up." Kuro murmured, her headache gone, yet her forehead was still pounding, "I just got mind raped, wait a sec."
"...Please never say that again." Arc sighed, one hand holding onto the book while the other half-carried her back to the front, "I've heard many terrible things from my brother, please do not tell me that I must learn to drown out your nonsense as well."
"Well, being how I only utter nonsense…" Kuro said, leaving her sentence hanging, before Arc stopped at the table.
He attempted to help her sit down, only to have her bat him away, "I'm dizzy, not disabled."
"If you say so." Arc sighed, taking the seat next to her. He looked around a bit, before murmuring, "Have you ever wondered how a sin became...well, a sin?"
"I assumed that they were just hand-picked by the big guy." Kuro admitted, "Or, you know, they were a part of the initial fall and all that crap."
"You're correct, but there's a bit more to it." Arc said, before flipping open his book, pointing to a page, "All the sins were a part of the initial fall, but each of the seven sins are known for a special skill."
"That makes sense," Kuro murmured, looking over the page Arc was gesturing to, "Only the best of the best will get noticed down here."
Kuro looked over the page, only to chuckle lightly. It reminded her of a sort of score sheet; this page being the table of contents. Judging by the "font", it seemed to be recently hand-written,
"So…Asmo the Boozo's got mind control powers?" Kuro asked, a bit confused. She had no idea what else "Mind Manipulation" could have meant.
"To a point, yes." Arc said, feeling like the teacher to a rather than a friend, before shaking away the feeling, "He's able to implement his own thoughts onto others, forcing his will onto others, in a way."
"Right, it's not rape if it's...You know what, I don't wanna touch it again, I already made my joke." Kuro murmured, before looking over Envy.
She couldn't help but hate the sin of Envy, Leviathan. Something about him just rubbed her the wrong way. Not that she liked any of the sins, except for maybe Belphegor, but that was because it was kinda expected of you.
"Huh, weird." Kuro murmured, looking over the page.
Arc leaned over, "What is it?"
"Next to Leviathan's name; there's nothing listed there." Kuro murmured, before looking up to Arc, "What does that mean?"
In the streets of the Rift, a demon sighed, looking about. From what he knew, the streets here were never quiet.
Finally, a demon walked by. He looked around, before following the demon, taking in and noting the striped tail that trailed behind the demon, as well as the odd color of the demon's hair.
The demon stayed to the shadows as he trailed this one, all while looking around. So far, there were no signs of life, nothing but a low hum that seemed to come from the ground.
Suddenly, the trailing demon stopped, feeling a chill go up his spine. He quickly hid, ducking behind a barrel, seconds before the tiger demon whipped around.
He looked about, before walking on, tail flicking about with what looked to be irritation.
Finally, when the tiger demon was gone, he sighed, wiping his forehead. He made sure no one was around, before his hair began to grow, slowly but surely turning back into its usual dark green, eyes growing ever colder, a special light ice-blue shade to be specific.
He cleared his throat, before pulling out a small device, something Legion had given him, from that crazed follower of his in the lab, "I had tabs on a tiger demon, but no one else is on these streets."
"I've got a lead, boss. It's a pair, both talking lowly. I caught them saying a few words about planned attacks. Should I go on?"
"I want the rest of the team with you," Leviathan insisted, constantly alert for any open ears that could listen in, "I'll be going on, we meet up at the point in the next half hour."
"Copy that, Salus erit vobiscum."
"Salus erit vobiscum." Leviathan replied, his appearance changing once again, before he was back out on the streets, searching for anything to finally catch this illusive team.
"It's probably nothing."
"I can imagine." Kuro grinned, shaking her head, "His 'quirk' is so shitty, he's too scared to put it in the books." Kuro laughed, only to have the sound die down when the castle rumbled once more.
Arc scoffed, shaking his head, before closing the book, "The kingdom is falling to pieces."
"From what I'm told, it's always been like that." Kuro murmured, watching Arc push the book to the side, "just a slow decline."
"It is true, to a point." Arc sighed, rubbing a hand through his hair, before taking his glasses off, cleaning off the lenses absentmindedly, "It'll become worse when Corvus becomes king."
"...What now?"
"You didn't know?" Arc asked, to which Kuro gave him a face.
"Do you think I'd ask if I did know?"
"There is no need to become snappy." Arc said, before dropping his voice, just above a whisper, "There has been talk of how, when Satan finally gives in, Corvus will take up the mantle of king."
"Who thought that was a good idea?" Kuro murmured. Of course, he had his moments of kindness, which was proven with the recent days, but Kuro couldn't see it. It was no secret, to her at least, that Corvus cared more so for himself than anyone else. Maybe she was somewhere up there, but that was only because of the current circumstances.
"It's a tradition, to a point." Arc said, murmuring the last part quietly, "From what I understand, Satan is to choose a prince that will take over when he's gone."
"And he just picked Corvus?" Kuro asked, "What about all your other brothers? Surely, they had a better chance, right?"
"That's where you're wrong, actually." Arc said, finally deeming his glasses clean enough to put back on, "While there are many princes to my father's name, there's less than a handful that he had with the queen. From what I remember, there have only ever been three to make it into their adult years, one of which being Corvus."
"And what about the two others?" Kuro questioned curious.
"I do not know what became of them." Arc admitted, "I never got to meet them personally; but I know that they were both born soon after the fall."
"Huh, what about that." Kuro murmured, "But, and sorry to backtrack, how would Corvus become king?"
"If our king were to die, he'd be the next in line." Arc said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "Of course, that chance is very slim, but we both know how Corvus is. He wants the position merely to flaunt it."
"That sounds about right." Kuro said, laughing cheekily, "But he just gets the title? I know this is probably common for your kind, but is he really just born into the right?"
"Well, yes and no." Arc murmured, rubbing his forehead, "He'll only have the title after he is initiated as a kingly figure."
"Meaning what, exactly?"
"Well, for there to be a king, he must first have a queen, yes?"
The moment Arc said it, Kuro felt a wave of nausea fill her head, enough for her to cringe, holding her forehead. Maybe that was why he was beginning to become so nice?
If that were the case, Kuro had to admit, that would be a shame. She was (ever so slowly) growing a bit...fond of the Crow.
Ugh, just thinking it made her stomach lurch.
She must have looked pretty bad, since even Arc took notice, "Are you alright?"
"Stupid headache," Kuro murmured, giving him a weak smile, "It's all on and off. Probably all thanks to that damn Asmo-Asshole."
"Even if a state of obvious pain, you spare no second to make stupid remarks." Arc sighed, before giving her a look.
Before she could retaliate with a much needed "Fuck you", she noticed him getting a bit too close. While he was probably the closest thing to a friend she had, besides Vanth, this was slowly getting awkward.
There were maybe a few inches between their foreheads, before Arc's hands came to rest on her cheeks. He looked her over, before sighing, "You're heating up slightly, that may be the reason you've got a headache. Have you been eating lately?"
"I eat." Kuro murmured, finding it a big difficult to speak when he was holding her face in his hands, "Just not much."
Arc gave her a small disapproving look, before moving forward. Kuro didn't have any time to make any sort of remark, feeling his lips softly press against her forehead.
She was stuck of shock for a few seconds after he pulled away, only to give him a look, trying to cover the red that threatened to overtake her face, "The hell was that stunt, spooderman?"
"I'm told that it is a Rifter thing." Arc said, pushing his glasses up as if this were another normal occurrence, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's something along the lines of 'kissing it better'?"
Kuro wanted to correct him, to say that it was something the Rifters said more so in spite rather than actually meaning the action, only to shake her head, "Well, in that case, you did it perfectly, Arc."
Arc nodded, a small smile on his face, before the doors were pushed open, two guards on the other end, "Prince Aranea, we apologize for the inconvenience, but the fighting has stopped. You're safe to freely walk the castle."
"Thank you for your services." Arc said, dismissing the two, before turning to Kuro, giving her an unreadable look, "...You are in need of a proper meal."
"Is that your nice way of telling me you look sickly?"
"Yes." Arc said, before holding out his hand, "Now, come along. If we go to the kitchen now, it is possible that I can get something decent out of the cooks."
"Aww, you'd threaten others for me?" Kuro grinned, taking his hand.
"I'd threaten others for fun." Arc murmured, before pulling her along, out of the library.
They never did notice the entity three shelves away. Of course, they never pasted by the area, but if they had come close, they would have seen the slight wisps of smoke, rising from where the entity stood.
Legion leaned on one of the bookshelves, a knowing smirk on his face. To think that he'd been trying to think of ways to gain control over the random demoness, and here was an opportunity, presenting itself.
While he wasn't much for staying in the library, filled with too many books that weren't worth his time, he had to wait. This is where he was supposed to meet up with Leviathan for a report.
He was waiting for the good news. Surely Leviathan would tell him that the opposing team was vanquished. Of course, there was no way that a ragtag group could ever amount to anything compared to highly trained demons.
So, when the sin of Envy came in, looking out of breath and about to faint, Legion's smirk turned to a scowl, "Please tell me that you have some good news. If not, you'll ruin my mood."
"Well, in that case, sorry to be the bearer or the bad mood." Leviathan managed, wheezing out his words, "We got our asses handed to us."
"...Come again?"
"No one made it to the next point." Leviathan hissed, clutching his side in pain, "I had to run for it."
"A sin running from a group of Rifters; how shameful."
"You'd do the same if you knew the weapons they had." Leviathan scowled, "They had shard guns, holy water bombs; all we were armed with were knives."
"I see."Legion sighed quietly, rubbing his forehead.
"If we want to take them out, we'll need an army." Leviathan sighed, before shooting Legion a grin, "But, we were able to narrow down their location."
To this, Legion's smirk was partly regained, "Surely this, as well as my report, will be enough to gain the attention of our ruler."
"Oh?" Leviathan asked, "And what did you figure out?"
"I'll fill you in on the way."
I'm just wondering, which ship do you guys like more?
Are we the people of Kuro X Arc or Kuro X Corvus?
Feel free to leave what you think in the reviews!
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed, feel free to leave a review (I thrive on those), and I'll cya next chappie!
Till then, bai bai!